A Baby Pageant was held recently at the Sherman Gym before the bigger girls vied for the title of Little Miss Old Home Days 2009. Babies included: 1-month-old Maxwell Hamel, 2 and 1/2-month-old Dakota Dow, 3-month-old Elizabeth Lane, 4 and 1/2-month-old Zachary Rutty, 6-month-old Rylee Cunningham, 1-year-olds Cora Long and Abbey Lane, 2-year-old Skyla Lewis, and 3-year-old Briana Stubbs. Each contestant got a participation certificate.
Then, the real fun began. Katarena Taylor was the emcee for the afternoon event that saw five contestants compete for the Miss Old Home Days title — Alyssa Stubbs, Journey Guiggey, Deja Hartt, Shelby Lewis and Erin Lake. They danced to “Down On The Farm” by Tim McGraw. Matt Lane then sang “John Deere Green” while the contestants got ready for the modeling segment of the program.
The modeling segment and introduction were done to the song, “Country” by Marty Stuart.
Miss Old Home Days 2008, Elise Crawford, brought out the laughs doing “jokes to make you laugh”, like, “Did you know that when a cow walks backwards, it says ‘oom’, ‘oom’?” The funniest one was, “Why does Sherman’s parade go around twice? Didn’t you get it the first time?”
The contestants then presented their talents, with Alyssa Stubbs dancing to “The Best of Both Worlds”; Journey Guiggey sang “This Is Me”; Deja Hartt Hula Hooped with three hoops, to the song, “The Hamster Dance”; Shelby Lewis did a skit and poem to “I Overslept This Morning”; and Erin Lake sang “Love Story”.
Crawford then took her last walk as Miss Old Home Days 2008. She walked very slowly back and forth across the stage, enjoying the last few seconds of her reign.
With the poise and interview, Erin Lake was asked, “If you could have three wishes, what would one of them be?” She answered in a clear, concise voice, “To have people put Christ back into Christmas.” All contestants answered one question then walked with poise and confidence across the stage. Elegant dresses swayed and shimmered as they waved and smiled at family members and friends in the audience.
While all the contestants left the stage to give Judges Donna Gantnier, Millee Tetrault and Sarah Monti time to name this year’s winners, Ted Hamel entertained the audience with “You’re Gonna Miss This” by Trace Adkins. Matt Lane sang, “Don’t Take The Girl” by Tim McGraw, and Hamel returned with “The Dance” by Garth Brooks. (Hamel was an Aroostook Idol contestant.)
When the contestants returned, they swayed and wiggled and smiled and tried to stay poised as the following winners were announced: Prettiest Smile, Alyssa Stubbs; Most Spirit, Erin Lake; Best All-Around, Journey Guiggey; Runner Up, Deja Hartt, and to thunderous applause from the audience, Miss Old Home Days 2009, Shelby Lewis. Each girl received flowers and a trophy, with Lewis also receiving a tiara and a sash.